Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai

Taj Mahal Palace is the most famous landmark and the second-most photographed monument in Mumbai. The breathtaking hotel is a magical combination of Islamic and Renaissance styles. The Palace was founded in 1898 and welcomed its first guests on December 16, 1902, even before the foundation of the Gateway of India. It is structured besides the Gateway of India, in Colaba. The Palace used to be the first sight for ships calling at the Mumbai port and it was the first building in Mumbai to be lit by electricity.

It was believed that Jamshedji Tata built the hotel after he was refused to enter Watson Hotel, which was restricted to whites only. Nonetheless, this story has challenging comments that claim that he built the hotel to gift visitors of Mumbai a royal experience. Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya and D. N. Mirza were the original architects in charge of building the hotel. However, the hotel was completed by an English engineer, W. A. Chambers.

The hotel comprises of six stores, with a central Moorish dome. The Taj was originally designed to face the city, but today it fronts the harbour and the Gateway of India. It is carved with Victorian Gothic and Romanesque details. Additionally, it has Edwardian touches on the roof. The Taj has become known for its blend of Islamic and European Renaissance architecture. It consists of 565 rooms, decorated in Moorish, Oriental and Florentine styles. The Taj’s vast size made it one of the most famous hotels in the world.

What adds to the hotel’s value is that its history is linked with the nation. It was the first hotel to employ women, the first to have electricity, the first to have freedom-fighters during the struggle for independence. It boasts many firsts in the Indian hospitality industry. It used American fans, Turkish baths, German elevators and English butlers in order to give its people an experience like no other hotel in India. In 1905, Mr. G.A. Mathews described the hotel: “The Taj Hotel is on such a scale of magnificence and luxury that at first it rather took one’s breath away. There is no other hotel in India which will bear comparison with it, as it is in a rank of its own.”

In addition, the Taj served as a hospital with 600 beds, during the First World War. Independent India’s first speech in 1947 was made at the hotel. The hotel was hit by an unfortunate series of terror attacks on November 2008. Consequently, dozens of people were killed. On the Indian Independence Day, August 15, 2010, the hotel was reopened after restoration. In November 2010, the president of the United States, Barack Obama, became the first foreign head of states to stay at the hotel after attacks. Besides, he delivered a speech from the terrace of the hotel, saying “the Taj has been the symbol of the strength and the resilience of the Indian people.” He also delivered a speech from the terrace of the hotel, where he said that ‘the Taj has been the symbol of the strength and the resilience of the Indian people.’